[rweba]

I think there is a cultural disconnect to some of the complaints about Wolfram's post.

Wolfram and Minsky both have backgrounds in academia. In academia "self-promotion" is actually not generally frowned upon.

People really do expect you to bring up your own work whenever possible and connect it whatever issue is at hand. This is not considered rude or offensive or "bragging", anymore than if someone told you they're from New York City and you mentioned that you'd lived in Brooklyn for seven years.

It's a way for people to find common ground and show how much they share intellectually.

Thus, I'm pretty sure Minsky wouldn't be offended.

And yes, for the record I have found Wolfram to be somewhat self-aggrandizing in the past, but I just don't think this is an example of that, he's simply reminiscing over his history with Minsky and describing some connections between their work.